An Economic Analysis of Power
Michael Rozeff explains ways in which power comes to work its evil. A ruler is never as careful with public money as with his own.
Real Bills and Inflation
I am continuing my commentary on The Real Bills Doctrine at LewRockwell.com. The new essay focuses on the inflationary consequences of the system and identifies numerous errors in the arguments to the contrary.
Randian Hoppe(?), Austrian Rand(?)
An interesting essay by Heidi C. Morris, Reason and Reality: The Logical Compatibility of Austrian Economics and Objectivism. (Thanks to Jack Criss)
Expanding Reach of the Individual AMT
Three scholars at the Urban Institute have published a paper entitled “The Expanding Reach of the Individual AMT.” It shows the harm done to a growing number of families by this stealth parallel tax system. It started out as a “soak the rich“ scheme, but has evolved into much more than that.
President Bush proudly points to his supposed tax cuts for all Americans.
Objectivists on Kelo
Over on SOLOHQ, there is a discussion of one of Machan’s pieceson Kelo, including my reply (also pasted below).
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Coda: I have it on good authority that Murray Rothbard’s correspondence indicates that around 1954, Herb Cornuelle convinced Ayn Rand to oppose eminent domain; she had peviously favored eminent domain because the Constitution (apparently) implicitly authorized it.
Rare Interview With Hayek
Militarist Campaigns Against CNOOC Bid for Unocal
The militarist Frank Gaffney, head of the Boeing-funded Center for Security Policy, has been leading the charge to prevent shareholders of Unocal from selling their company to Chinese oil company CNOOC. In recent congressional testimony, he urged the federal government to intervene to prevent this merger on national security grounds. He wildly insinuated that the Chinese are plotting “electro-magnetic pulse attacks” on America from 40-400 miles in the sky.
The Economist on the ECB-correct facts (at last!)-confused theories
For months I have been pointing out ( See also this post )that the widespread perception that the European Central Bank (the ECB) has pursued a “tight monetary policy” is a myth. Later Paul Kasriel of Northern Trust also pointed this out. But now for the first time, a major “mainstream” publication, The Economist , has rejected the myth.
The Individualism of Auberon Herbert
This morning’s piece by Adam Martin reminds me of the need to get the word out about the great English political philosopher Auberon Herbert (1838-1906). He used the term “voluntaryism“ to describe the only type of social arrangement that respected people’s self-ownership--voluntary, non-coercive cooperation, which stands in sharp contrast with the state as we have long known it.
Patents and Blood Cells
My wife and I, like yuppies we are, signed up for blood cord storage with NECBB when our baby was born a couple years ago. I get a bill every year for the annual storage fee. It’s usually $99.
